Bohemian Spirit

Recently, while at my favorite hang out, I met Amy, a local artist who owns Bohemian Spirit.  I had been in her studio/store two locations ago and was a little overwhelmed by the massive quantities of vintage goods.  We were the only two in the back room of the Red Cup and began chatting.  She told me she was moving to another location and I told her that I was looking for some things to take my summer cabin back to it's 40's/50's glory.  She told me to stop by and she would see what she had.  Well, it was worth the trip.  I found a wonderful bed spread several valances and a couple of sets of curtains.  They were all perfect.  I purchased a couple of additional items including three hanging lamps.  Any guesses on how much I spent?  $20.00! Deal of the century.  I can't wait to get out to New Mexico and get some pictures of the goods in action.

Colors of Creation

I have long been dreaming of a website/blog/podcast that I could funnel all of my background and ideas about spirituality and children.  I have been taking notes and basically doing all of planning since last summer.  But, I woke up this morning, after being sick for 10 days, and realized that there is no time like the present.  I have been frustrated that this blog.....for some reason, does not really lend itself to the content I want to focus on with the new one.  So, for now, I will have two.  We will see how it evolves.  I hope you will give me a couple of weeks to really get it going.  There re a few kinks already.  

Here it is......... Colors of Creation.

Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day

Project A Day

I have read several different blogs that post about a creative project they (I assume) complete everyday.  So, when I decided (yesterday) that I wanted to make an apron to accompany a birthday gift for one of the older one's friends birthday...I thought this was very manageable.  WRONG.  I am not the best seamstress, but I really do aspire to be one of these days.  For some reason I have not picked it up quite as easily as I have knitting.

At breakfast I dug out a pattern I had stashed away and some fabric I thought would be fitting.  I let my little guy pick out which apron I would make and then we headed off to the gym.  When we returned...lunch, put the boys down, set up a mock sewing room in the middle of my kitchen, and I got started.  All went well until the boys woke up early due to messy pants.  

I worked and messed up and worked and messed up, until the cute full apron became a half; I called it good.  Now, it is 5:00 pm and I am off to the store to get food to make dinner for my BIL and SIL tonight.

All in a day's work!

I will post a picture as soon as I get my computer to download.

25+ Years of Knitting

I knit every Wednesday with a group from my church. We work on stocking the church with Prayer Shawls for those in need of some extra care. We also make hats, slippers, scarves, and hand warmers for the homebound.
One lady, new to the group but not new to knitting, is working on an awesome Prayer Shawl. She is using scrap yarn from the past 20/25 years. As she goes along, she tells us that she made a baby blanket with this and a hat with that. It is so interesting and a great piece. When she began, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it has turned out BEAUTIFUL. I don't know how she will ever give it away....but, that is why I love this group...they teach me to be more loving and giving.

A Very Needed Kniting Retreat

I was in serious need of a weekend for ME. My husband and I have been talking about this for quite some time, but I had no idea how to spend my free time. I love to read and blog and knit….but, I really needed to get out and spend time with people outside of my immediate family. So, when the local yarn store announced its Super Saturday, I knew where I was going to be….me and all of my knitty friends. It was awesome. Although, I have to say, knitting for 13 hours did start to feel like work at about 9 hours. But I did not give in, I did not go home, I persevered and I am all the better for it.

Two years ago I would have read this post and rolled my eyes…how pathetic. But, I have spent two and a half years (really three and a half) consumed in family, children, pregnancy, and just a general domestic haze. I find myself going home to catch some uninterrupted sleep if I have even a free half hour. So, this day of knitting was a big change from my norm.

We started the day at my favorite coffee shop, Red Cup and then headed over to Sealed With A Kiss at 10 am sharp…to assure that we would get comfy seats. We spent the day milling around the candy…I mean yarn shop, meeting other knitters, chatting with friends, watching the spinner, getting to know Amy from Madelinetosh Yarn, and knitting, of course. There was plenty of coffee, food, and wine for all. And, best of all, Doris taught me how to do Magic Loop.

All and all a pretty perfect day. I think this is just what I needed to energize some new blog entries. One of the true highlights of the day was when I told a women I met that I blog and she asked what my blog was called. When I told her, Read this and tell me what it says, she said, “Oh, I have heard of that.”

A Great Trip

Las Vegas Mosaic
Originally uploaded by UpNAdam

It is well known that my "Love Language" is Quality Time and boy did I get some quality time with my family this weekend. We went to New Mexico...all of us this time....daddy included. We spent our time hiking, playing, talking, playing with ladybugs, wheelbarrow riding, practicing photography, visiting galleries, and much more. The weather could not have been more beautiful. Here are a few pictures of our great trip.

Photoshop

This is the silliest thing, but I have dreamed...literally dreamed of having a legal version of Photoshop to play around with on my own computer. Yesterday, this dream came true. I have been shopping around trying to find something that was easy to use and yet allowed for some creativity when designing photo projects....I settled on Photoshop Elements 4.0 (since I have a Mac). I heart this program. It is so cool. I am trying to figure out what I am going to do for my mom, mother in law and grandmothers for Mother's Day. That was the premise of my first project. It is not the final work, but this is a good start.

Photoshop

This is the silliest thing, but I have dreamed...literally dreamed of having a legal version of Photoshop to play around with on my own computer. Yesterday, this dream came true. I have been shopping around trying to find something that was easy to use and yet allowed for some creativity when designing photo projects....I settled on Photoshop Essentials 4.0 (since I have a Mac). I heart this program. It is so cool. I am trying to figure out what I am going to do for my mom, mother in law and grandmothers for Mother's Day. That was the premise of my first project. It is not the final work, but this is a good start.

Breaking Down the Walls

I have been very into the Creative Moms Podcast. I listen to it while working out a lot...if I loose the 30 pounds I am going for I owe it partially to Amy of Creative Moms.:) Today I had listened to the most recent podcast, so I went back and downloaded the first one. Since then, I have been thinking about the walls that are around me and those that I might help build around others. Several things came to mind.

My grandfather was dying of lung cancer and I became very interested in recording some family history that I felt like was dying with him. I made up a questionnaire and gave it to several family members to fill out. I also asked that they include some pictures. I had a great response and they shared wonderful insight about my themselves. I was so excited. Then I sat down to write....the plan was to weave the stories together into something compelling to read. I began with my Grandma Brown and some of her stories. When I was finished with the first draft, I gave it to my dad to read. He hated it. He said that I had all of the facts wrong. I was crushed. For one, how do you get the facts wrong, when they are sitting right in front of you? I don't think I have sat down to write down anything outside of personal journals and papers for school. I still have all of the questionnaires, but I have no idea what I will do with them. Regardless, I was motivated today to keep writing...good, bad, or otherwise writing is a passion and something I can really pass down to my boys.

Hence this blog. It is an attempt to expose my writing gently.

The podcast also got me thinking about my interest in sewing, knitting, etc. I have always considered myself creative, although I am not sure anyone else would describe me in this way. I am definitely not an artist and it may be a stretch to be even consider me artistic, but like Amy I do not like to think of myself as a crafter. The word that best describes me is creative. In my mind the things I create are as much of a part of me as my children. I think about them and work with whatever medium until it takes the shape of something that reflects something in me. I cannot imagine putting a price on my little creations.

Currently I am really interested in holiday decorations. I love transforming my living room for each holiday. It makes me smile when Adam comes out and points out the new additions. Here is a picture of the Valentine Banner I made.....I am happy with it, but more than anything, I learned a lot of different tricks and got a lot of ideas for more projects.

I also really enjoy creating the "perfect" rooms for my boys. Vintage Airplanes is the theme for Adam's room and Nursery Rhymes the theme for Nathan's. Here are a couple of pictures. I will write more about the details and how I developed these rooms. I love them!

Adam's Airplane Room

Nathan's Nursery Rhyme Room